Japan’s LNG purchases down

According to Reuters latest report, Japan's LNG purchases dropped for a second year as an energy crisis brought on by the 2011 Fukushima disaster eased.

Rising supplies of homegrown renewable energy and the return of some nuclear power, amid falling demand as Japan's population declines, means that the country has more diversity in its sources of energy.

Shipments of LNG dropped for a second year last year, down 2% to 83.34 million t, while their value fell 40%.

Japan is the world's biggest importer of LNG, and demand had surged to successive records after the March 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant led to the eventual shutdown of all reactors in the country.

But two reactors are now operating under new safety standards and more may be restarted this year.